Open Doors
by XxbLiNdArTiStxX
Summary: It has been a year since the Freeze, and Elsa is just gaining control over her kingdom again and earning the trust of her people and the surrounding nations. So it is an unwelcome surprise when her advisors are not only pushing for marriage, but a letter is sent from the Southern Isles from the King requesting to mend relations.


_"Elsa, are you sure you want to do this?" Elsa stood behind the solid oak doors of the palace, her fingers shaking as she held her hands together before her. She stared at the doors, waiting for the cue that would send her out into the lions den of her people. It has been less than forty eight hours since she had thawed Arendelle and she needed to get out there, explain, apologize and hope for the best. She was dressed in one of her traditional gowns, having gone more conservative than her ice gown for this occasion, and her hair was pulled into the bun she normally kept her hair in when dealing with official business. Her tiara was still at the ice palace, and her gloves were on the table beside her. Anna was refusing to let her wear them, saying that she needed to start believing in herself and stop concealing her abilities._

_"You know you dont have to do this." Anna told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Elsa looked at her sister with a quivering smile before giving a slight nod to her._

_"Im positive, Anna." Her voice was quiet and meek and shaking with nerves. "I have to do this." It wasnt seconds later that the doors began to open and her heart raced in her chest. The court yard was filled to the brink with her people, standing there, whispering amongst themselves as Elsa and Anna slowly walked out to stand on the steps before them. Elsa took her sisters hand, clenching it tightly and bit her lip._

_"Breathe." Anna whispered to her. She squeezed her hand before she gently pulled away and took a step away from her. Elsa glanced at her before turning to look back at her people. She noticed that the first few rows were stepping back slightly, no children were in sight of her, and the fearful looks upon their faces only made her pale. She took a breath, closed her eyes for a second and placed an unsure smile upon her face._

_"Good morning, people of Arendelle," She paused, looking around the courtyard. No one greeted her back. She felt her emotions rising and took another breath. "What happened the last couple days, the Freeze...it is something that is very hard to explain. I never once in my life _ever_ meant to hurt anyone or cause such an extreme event." She tired to put as much sincerity into her voice as she could possibly muster, "When I was little, a lot of people in the palace knew about my powers; my parents, my sister, the closest staff. But each day, my powers began to grow, and I started to lose control." She glanced at her sister and noticed her standing beside Kristoff. "There was a night that Anna woke me up and asked me to build a snowman. We went to the ballroom, and were having the time of our lives." She smiled at that slightly. "But our play got to wild. Anna was jumping from snowbank to snowbank that I was making and I couldnt make them fast enough. I slipped, and when I tried to catch her, my aim was off and I accidentally hit her in the head." She turned to her sister with a sad look, "That is how she got the blonde streak in her hair." Anna unconsciously reached up and touched the strip that differed from the rest of the ginger color. Elsa turned back to her people. "That is when my parents and I both started to get scared. We closed the gates._

_"I moved out of the room that Anna and I shared and I was locked into my bedroom, where I couldnt hurt anyone. My father gave me the gloves and told me "**Conceal it, dont feel it. Dont let it**_** _show"_** _and I said it enough that I believed it. I stayed in my room for years, isolated and afraid. I stayed in my room, even after my parents passed, because I was so afraid I was going to hurt my sister, or one of my people again." Elsa glanced down at a woman in the first row and saw her crying and almost started crying herself. Her voice choked and her lip trembled but she continued going on. "Coronation night, when Anna and I fought, she took my glove and I felt my control slip. My emotions were already haywire and I had no way of controlling it. I thought that if I went away forever, everyone would be safe. But it wasnt until Anna came to find me did I learn that I froze our entire kingdom._

_"I have been scared of myself my entire life. I have been afraid about something I was born with, something I have no ability changing about myself. I dont know where I got this from, I dont know if I will pass it on. But what I do know is that I am no longer going to be afraid of this, and I am going to use it to better the kingdom, better my family and better myself. We are gifted things about ourselves to use, not to bottle up." She took a breath and put a small smile on her face. "I am your Queen, and I am going to do my very best to better our land. The doors will remain open, and no more secrets will be held."_

_Elsa stood on the steps, staring out to her people, and with each second of silence, her fear of rejection began to grow. That is, until a little girl pushed through the crowd, up the steps and wrapped her arms around the Queen's legs. Elsa gasped and stumbled back before catching herself. She felt the tears well up and start to pour down her cheeks before she knelt down and wrapped her arms around the child, giving her a hug as well. Clapping and cheering began to bubble in the crowd before it was deafening roar and acceptance in their Queen covered the kingdom._

* * *

><p><strong>One Year<strong> **Later: **

Elsa hummed as she flipped through the pages of the leather bound book, her fingers gently running across the pages, following the words that were scrawled. Her eyes darted back and forth, taking in the information from within the book, her hair falling to conceal her face. She reached up, brushing her bangs back on top of her head, only for them to fall in her face again. She grumbled lightly, pulling her tiara from her head, brushing her bangs back and setting the tiara back in place to hold her hair back. She smiled to herself, returning back to the pages of history. She was sitting at her desk within the library, comfortably dressed in her gown of choice, one of the ice gown she created for herself. It was white with light blue trim and snowflake designs at the base, crawling up and becoming more scarce as they rose towards her waist. The sleeves were long and covered her wrists, but she did not have a train. Her hair was braided and fell over her left shoulder, as usual, and her makeup with minimal, simply highlighting her eyes. Her day had been simple and short that day, with not much to speak about with her council and actually being quite ahead when it came to the books. She had spent the majority of the time in the library, reading through novels and history records, as was a usual pass time for her.

Her fingers drummed on the hard oak table, her chin rested in the palm of her other arm. She was at peace sitting in the library, by herself. Anna was with Kristoff somewhere within the castle, spending time with him before he went off into the mountains again for ice. Olaf and Sven were outside with the children, and for some odd reason, her advisers were leaving her alone. She was happy, and a small smile began to pull at her pale lips. That was, until the doors to the library opened and Kai walked in.

"Your majesty, the advisors request a meeting with you right away." Elsa felt her happy mood drain away and groaned, slamming the book shut and standing up. She pulled her emotions back into control and set her face back into its usual professional set. She walked before Kai, heading down the hallway and down the stairs to the meeting room, where ten elderly men sat waiting for her, speaking amongst themselves. She walked in with a sweep of her skirts and stood at the head of the table, bringing a halt to any and all conversations. The men rose, bowed to her and she took a seat, the men standing until her butt was placed within the high backed chair, before sitting themselves. Elsa looked at them all with a frown on her face.

"What is so important that this couldnt wait until tomorrow?" She asked them, clasping her hands before her on the table. The men looked at each other before the man to her immediate left, Ansel, spoke up. He was in his middle ages, with greying hair and a plump stomach, but he was to her immediate left because he had all of the best intentions for her. He also stood up for her, and always argued for her when she was not present. He was her fathers best friend and had known about her powers since the beginning. He was more of an uncle to her than anything.

"The men and I have been talking, Elsa, " He was also the only one allowed to call her by her first name, "and we have decided that it is time you begin looking for a husband." Elsa choked on her own saliva and stared at the family like figure in astonishment. She could not believe that they were already shoving marriage upon her when she had barely had the crown for a year and they were still getting over the whole 'Freezing Arendelle' catastrophy she accidentally caused. Who in their right mind would actually want to marry her?

"Actually, many letters have already come back accepting an audience with you, your majesty." Elsa hadnt realized that she had spoken aloud until the Duke of Arendelle, a few men down on her right, had spoken. She felt a blush flush her cheeks and a soft chill fill the room. The men looked at each other and Ansel nodded to Kai, who left, possibly in search of Anna incase anything got too out of hand.

"You sent marriage requests out already, without my consent?" She whispered, staring at her advisers in wonderment. Snowflakes began to fall.

"Your majesty, it is within your best interest." Elsa took steady breaths, but the snowflakes were coming down steadily. They were not accumulating, however, which was always a good sign.

"You need a husband, Elsa." Ansel placed his hand on hers, causing her to look up at him. He looked at her with complete sincerity and nodded. "You need someone to help you when Anna is not around."

"Ive gotten better, Ansel, you know that. As long as I know Anna is safe-"

"But what if something were to happen, where Anna was no longer safe. Your emotions would be out of control. You, and the kingdom need someone who will always be there for you." Elsa stood up suddenly and slammed her hands upon the desk. Ice began to form on the ceiling.

"This marriage is a business transaction that you are forming. These men have absolutely no interest in me but in the throne. How can I marry someone who wont care for me like you say they are supposed to?" Her voice had gone deep and threatening and her eyes were cold. The door opened and Anna rushed in frantically.

"Alright, who screwed up and pissed off my sister?" She asked, placing a hand on Elsa's arm. The ice began to melt and the snow slowly stopped. Elsa looked down at her fingers and balled them into fists, taking steady breaths as her sister rubbed circles on her arm. "Elsa? Whats wrong?"

"They are forcing my hand in marriage." She hissed before twisting around her sister and leaving the room with a flourish of her skirts. The men, guards and Anna stared after their queen with open mouths, the door slamming behind her. Anna quirked an eyebrow and popped her hip before turning to the advisers.

"You all really are dumb."

* * *

><p>Elsa knew all about the checks and balances between Royalty and the Advisers. The advisers were put in place to speak for the people and give them some sort of voice to the rulers, instead of it being a 100% monarchy. The advisers, when on the topic of marriage, had complete authority to tell the existing ruler to get married to help the kingdom, <em>especially<em> when there was only a Queen. She knew that the marriage proposal would come sooner or later. She was simply hoping for later, _way_ later.

She had retired to her bedroom, locked the door and collapsed to the floor with her back against the frozen wood and her knees pulled to her chest. She was not at all handling the news well. The floor had iced over and snowflakes hung frozen in the air in a similar way to when her parents had died. Her chest was rising and falling steadily at a picked up pace and her eyes had frozen tears stuck to her eyelashes. She knew she had to do this, but she was just wrapping up getting her kingdoms approval, and the surrounding trade partners. Now she had to find someone to marry, fall in love with him, have relations, make him king, have children, and give up the majority of her powers to become the _Queen_ and all its motherly qualities, rather than the _ruler_ of Arendelle. And that scared the living shit out of her.


End file.
